GUNS Magazine February 2013 Digital Edition - Page 54

Return of inchester’s 1876 .50-95 rifles first arrived in 1879 with factory literature declaring it to “Meet the needs of the hunter who needs a weapon having absolute killing power but not necessarily long range…” Original ammo had a 300-grain lead hollowpoint bullet with a copper cup in the hollow “… modeled after the famous English Express bullets.”* Winchester intended the rifle to be used at ranges within 150 or 200 yards, and at such close range, the bullet was quite effective on thin-skinned game. W sToRy and PhoTos: JEff John It is perhaps not surprising that many of these rifles subsequently went to Africa and India as closequarters stopping rifles for lions, leopards and tigers. The 1876 Cimarron reproduction (reviewed in the September 2009 issue), made by Uberti of Italy, comes standard with a 28" or 22" barrel and a full magazine. I took an immediate liking to the 28" rifle, enough so that I bought it after the story for this project. While nicely balanced, the 1876—any 1876—is a huge, long rifle, especially with a 28" barrel, and modestly heavy with a tare weight of 10 pounds. Put 10 rounds in it and you can add a full pound. Thus, the rifle with that entire payload shoulders and swings slowly. The short, fat bullet over black powder tends to foul the bore quickly, so accuracy tends to decline after two or three shots, rendering the rest of the magazine more or less progressively 54 W W W. G U N S M AG A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 3